Washington, D.C. -- Consumer Federation of America today welcomed the release of two proposed food safety rules that have been under review at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for over a year. Required as part of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), the rules propose new regulations for produce safety and preventive controls for food. CFA noted that two other rules that were sent to OMB at the same time – a proposed rule addressing preventive controls for animal feed and one for imported food safety – still remain under review.

“Congress granted FDA essential new food safety authorities aimed at preventing foodborne illness and protecting consumers,” said Chris Waldrop, director of the Food Policy Institute at Consumer Federation of America. “Preventive controls and produce safety are cornerstones of FDA’s new preventive system. We are eager to review the proposals and provide comments to the agency. We encourage the Administration to release the remaining rules soon so that stakeholders can understand how the rules work together.”

The Food Safety Modernization Act was passed with bipartisan support in Congress and signed into law by President Obama on January 4, 2011. In November and December of 2011, FDA delivered to OMB for review four proposed rules on preventive controls for food and animal feed, produce safety, and food import safety. Today’s announcement comes on the two-year anniversary of the bill being signed into law.

“We look forward to continuing our ongoing dialogue with FDA on implementing FSMA to ensure adequate protection for consumers from contaminated food,” Waldrop said. “Release of these proposals is a good first step towards fulfilling the promise of the new law.”

Contact: Chris Waldrop, 202-797-8551

Consumer Federation of America is an association of nearly 300 nonprofit consumer organizations that was established in 1968 to advance the consumer interest through research, advocacy and education.